In The Heaven Council….
Deep in the recent chaotic debate of their gathering, a prestigious elegance of authority and power stood strong in her seat as the angels fought and argued with words of the new concern that was brought forth by Azrael after his return from the realm of limbo.
Shouts of disbelief and anger rang around the room as the seats were filled with the watchful eye the Seraphim whom they all trusted to guide.
"It had to be a demon!"
"Impossible. No demon can defeat an archangel!"
"Why was Azrael even in limbo in the first place!?"
"Could it have been the fallen!?"
"Lucifer wouldn't be that foolish to attack an Archangel!"
The argument grew and grew and grew to bitterness of unneeded levels with insults cast as harsh as the scrutiny behind the situation.
"Everyone please calm down!" Emily, the youngest of them all, pleaded and stood nervously at her seat with no avail to her gentleness calming the chaos that surrounded the room.
She looked up to her friend and tutor who took the approach of firm and authoritative in her voice and position.
"We are here to discuss the new threat that looms in the between." Sera tried to bring focus in her announcement but was met with verbal hostility amongst her colleagues and felt her own peace slipping.
"Everyone!" She tried once more but found her voice muffled by the shouts.
A sigh escaped the angel before having no alternative come to mind, echoed the room with her own frustration.
"EVERYONE QUIET!"
Her sudden raise of tone silenced the entire council as she expressed some authority in the display of her wings. She moved her gaze around the room with directness to the childish arguing before taking a breath to steel her nerves.
"Now, I understand we are having a severe crisis in the midst of Adam revealing Charlie Morningstar's oblivious ambition, but this is not the time to behave like children!"
There was a collective silence of nods from the council members as she took her seat next to Emily.
She turned her focus down to the most trusted warrior of heaven but with better composing or her emotions.
"Michael, how is Azrael?"
"Wounded but alive." Michael answered coldly after standing up with Azrael's chipper scythe in hand. "Whatever attacked him during his time in limbo was no mere creature. It can damage us or worse."
The implication shadowed the room in fear, a being capable of harming some of their most powerful breathen did not let the council members calm so easily even in their perfect paradise.
"Continue." Sera commanded, which he nodded to before displaying the memory of Azrael and his battle through the orb.
"This monstrosity was capable of beating Azrael through the means of shadows and light without a confliction of either. This creature hides behind a cloak as you all see but the strange part….."
A pause broke in the room that only echoed with the uncaring crunch of chips in Adam's mouth before Lute nudged him to take things serious.
"Sir." Lute hissed quietly as all eyes narrowed on the first man.
Adam remained unmoved by their intensity and continue to eat so rudely, speaking with a mouthful.
"What, a guy has to eat."
"Ignore him everyone." Sera sighed and moved her attention back to the archangel, though she would have worss for Adam later. "Continue Michael, please."
"Here." Michael played the scene of Azrael's memory to one specific moment of the cloaked figure that made everyone's hearts race with disgust and fear.
A gasp escaped the seraphim as she saw what the figure was doing after it bested their Archangel of Death, knowing the most of the forbidden art they were witnessing be used in replay.
"Is it collecting souls!?" Metatron yelled to the shocking horror of those not yet guided were heard screaming as they were absorbed into the cloak.
"Precisely." Michael waved his hand and accelerated the imaging to the figure and its new accomplice that appeared in the fog of limbo. "And what's worse is a primordial hellhound sides with it."
Adam, their arrogant but effective leader of the exorcists, was both surprised and irritated at this revelation to the point of spitting out his mouthful chips before he made his own statement to the council.
"Bullshit. I killed off those fucking mutts ages ago!"
"Clearly not." Metatron whispered to Uriel, who nodded with newfound scrutiny for the first man.
Some agreed with the first man while others now believed his statement to be skeptical, a demonic species thought dead somehow alive and siding with the attacker of their divine brother.
"Perhaps a demon?" Sera suggested the thought but was met with disagreement of Michael shaking his head and a darkened remembrance of the archangel recalling the incident.
"No. Azrael strictly detailed that whatever attacked him was not a demon, but something of ancient divinity."
"Ancient divinity?" Emily questioned this unknown knowledge with need of understanding.
The young Angel looked up to Sera for closure of the mystery but found her superior biting her lip so hard she bled gold and shook with a quiet rage.
"Sera?" Emily leaned away with mild fear to the aura flickering off the seraphim.
"That's not possible!" Sera barked and slammed her hands on her armrests, quaking the entire room with her strength. "Such power hasnt been seen since the slaughter of the divine beasts!"
Her outburst shook the entire council of their image about Sera and had many visibly shaken by the anger she displayed for but a momen before collecting herself.
Even Michael was a little surprised by her response, but part of him understood from the forgotten history she endured and knew the rage behind the mention of their fallen friends.
Still he stood firm and authoritative to Sera with his gaze locked in her.
"Not all the divine beasts fell, Sera." He implied in a colder tone of voice.
Sera's eyes narrowed in agitation at this and gripped the armrests, glaring down at her colleague for pushing the subject.
"Divine beasts?" Lute quietly asked the first man as he sat back down with a roll of his eyes underneath the mask.
"Yeah, bunch of nobodies," Adam drawled the answer with lack of care. "A handful of angels back then that willingly fell to guard hell when Lucifer was kicked out. Big man upstairs decided to turn them into big bad monsters that would keep hell and heaven in check."
His poor detail of the history had set off something both maternal and wrathful in the seraphim as she snapped her gaze at Adam.
"There's more to that story and you know it!" Sera snapped and stood up again with pain behind her eyes. "We lost so much that day. I lost so much, so do not mock that history, Adam."
Her voice hitched with sadness and anger before her intense stare at the man burned with remembrance of pain and loss on the day of their lost ones.
Most of the angels knew better than to make a say in the history of her suffering, but Adam was far less sympathetic to the loss heaven experienced and showed it with so much dismissal in the expression of his hands.
"Big whoop. You lost your son and your sister got mad and left heaven after giving you her position. Shit happens."
Sera took every word from his mouth to heart and flashed malice in her eyes momentarily before she remembered her position as seraphim commanded grace and control, albeit a reluctant inhale of gathering her emotion before she made a quick decision.
"Michael—" she returned to him with a gentler expression of need and trust. "See to Azrael's recovery. I want word when he awakens."
The valiant angel bowed for a brief moment before taking his leave, giving Sera the moment to command.
"We will resume this meeting when Azrael has awakened. For now, let us return to our posts and stay vigilant."
The angels surrounding the Seraphim gave respectful nods before following her in a disappearance of flashes of light which left Adam and Lute alone in the council room.
Loneliness though fueled the curiosity of the lieutenant as she stood up from her seat to confront the lazy commander still eating his chips.
"Sir, what was that all about?"
"What was what about?" Adam burped the last bit of the question, though it didn't falter Lute in her need for answers.
She narrowed her eyes in scrutiny before she turned Adam in his seat to face her, crossing her arms under her chest.
"The hostility from Sera, and the way she was so angry when you insulted her."
"Don't worry about it." He waved a dismissive hand at her confrontation. "She gets like that about her erased kid."
"Sir—" she leaned down and trapped Adam by changing her posture to grip the armrests. "What do you mean you mean by erased?"
Adam's eyes flickered with annoyance to the remembering of the past he shared with Sera. A groan escaped him as the annoyed Lute waited impatiently by tapping her foot, but he knew better than to keep her in the dark in the matter when she was the only angel that wouldn't drop the subject.
"Fine," he exhaled dramatically. "Long story short, Sera had a dumbass son that defied her after Lucifer was kicked out. He volunteered to be one of the divine beasts to keep hell locked."
"Okay," Lute scoffed at the poor description. "And where is this son of hers now?"
"Dead." Adam chirped and tossed another chip in his mouth. "Sera destroyed him for his defiance. Soul and all."
"SHE WHAT!?"
Meanwhile in Hazbin Hotel…..
In the depth of the kitchen during Pentious' first day of truly integrating to the hotel after his supoosed change of heart, Noctis stirred a bubbling pot of soup of his own design for tonight's dinner with Nifty sitting on the edge of the counter kicking her legs out of boredom after being asked to join for some homemade cooking.
"Why do I have to be here?" She stared curiously at the human with her wide eye as he stirred the pot over the burning stovetop.
"Because I need a taste tester," Noctis replied warmly and poured a few spices into the bubbling concoction. "And you're the only one I haven't had time with."
"I like tasting!" She groaned enthusiastically and peeked around his shoulder. "Especially the blood of my enemies."
Noctis paused with the same warm smile but expressed wide eyes of concern and disblief while staring down at the pot, his mind racing at the sudden thought of never wanting to piss her off or provoke whatever methodical thoughts she has.
It didn't help that in his peripheral vision Nifty was currently tormenting a cockroach that was trying to escape but was met with her needle stabbing ebery direction it intended.
There was a hesitant breathe in him when his gaze slowly moved to the demoness staring intently with what he couldn't decide was bloodlust or genuine innocence, and it made his heart skip a little with fear.
"I'll name you Sir Lumpy." She cackled quietly and bagged the roach after stabbing it.
Noctis breathed said fear out before he gave the unstable demoness an expression between unamused and uncertainty.
"Nifty, you scare me sometimes."
"I know." She giggled and posed as if she was innocent.
Noctis sighed and shook his head before holding up the ladle of hot broth
"Here, blow on this first and tell me what—"
His words were halted by Nifty when she grabbed the hot ladle and gulped the entire swig of broth without blowing on it.
"Nifty it's hot!" He exclaimed but met not a hint of pain or discomfort in her expression.
She smacked her lips to the taste with a thoughtful answer as he processed how she was able to do that.
"Didn't that hurt?" He asked with a hint of worry, but she shook her head.
"Needs to be thicker and spicy." Nifty said too sweetly.
Noctis shook off the surprise expression on his face albeit with a little apprehension and focused on her answer.
"Right." He drawled uncomfortably and resumed the stirring before adding a cream cheese block that took her wandering eye away from whatever entertainment she could find in the new roach in her baggy.
Still the wild antics of the housekeeper kept the man on his toes when she suddenly hopped off the counter and skittered up his body.
"Why cream cheese?" Nifty asked after climbing up to his shoulders and looked down the same way she always does with Alastor.
"It's jalapeño cream cheese." He replied before dropping the diced potatoes in the mixture. "It will thicken and give that extra kick like you want."
"I like spicy."
"Me too."
Noctis felt a sense of peace to the conversation between him and the little housemaid now climbing onto his shoulders to play with his hair while he watched the soup mix start to thicken and turn a cream color.
"Im going to braid your hair." Nifty giggled and started the work.
Noctis didn't mind though when she weighed so little and found even just her process of braiding a few strands very relaxing with how gentle she was pulling. It even helped with the mild headache he was having.
"You really like my hair huh?" He tried to look back up to Nifty but was firmly turned away by her hands.
"I love it!" She exclaimed and carefully tied the end of the first braid with a childish nature the man had never seen. "It's all soft and white like snow!"
"Always has been." Noctis chuckled to this strange innocence about Nifty as he turned down the burner and put the lid on the pot. "Okay, that will be ready in a few hours."
Nifty was barely paying attention now, lost in her own little world of fun in the midst of crafting another braid of hair during Noctis' walk around the kitchen for cleaning the mess of vegetables and spices he scattered across the kitchen island.
"Have you always been this way?" Nifty asked before tying another end.
Noctis stopped and grabbed a water from the fridge before he expressed curiosity with a cock of his eyebrow.
"In what way?" He asked before drenching his thirst.
"Always so big." Nifty referred to his physical structure as she started working on another braid. "I've never known a human to look like you and I saw a lot of humans when Alastor made deals in the mortal world."
Noctis stopped his swig of refreshment and pondered her words, wrapping his mind around his life before waking up in hell. For as far back as he could remember there really was no change or alteration to his body and now he was starting to realize it.
"You know—" he puzzled his chin. "You make a valid point. I've always eaten right and exercised but no matter what I did I was always healthy and bigger than most people. Not once have I ever been sick."
"Not once?" She leaned over his head and looked right into his eyes.
"Nope." He chirped with a small chuckle.
Nifty wasn't convinced and shifted on his shoulders before she resumed her fun of braiding the long white hair while he started cleaning the dishes he made a mess off.
"I'm not buying it. You're a human, and humans get sick."
Noctis chuckled laughed deeply before washing another dish. He thought about countering their little talk with some playful debate of his person until she leaned over his head again with that same critical stare.
"You are human, right?"
He blinked repeatedly to that silly question and laughed a little that she was doubting what he is.
"Yes Nifty, I am very human."
"I don't believe you." Her gaze hardened as he focused on his chore. "You have some weird deflecting power that knocked back Alastor. Plus, that weird note from when you got here."
"Then what would I be?" He chuckled a little more.
"I don't know, but even I noticed something." She sat back up straight and resumed the braiding. "You don't get tired."
Noctis stopped his gentle laughter and realized that she was right. He doesn't get tired like he used too on earth and it showed with how busy he had been for weeks with all the renovations he had done already to the hotel.
He found himself puzzled and confused at the same time, expressing the same look like Nifty wore as they scratched their heads in wonder.
"Yeah you're right. That's really weird."
Despite the clank of dishes in the sink and her humming, silence rang between the human and the housemaid as he pondered their conversation with a little more understanding that he was not as normal as he had thought and worried that the whoever dumped him off in this realm had a reason that was yet to be found.
"You know—" he stopped with the dishes and stared blankly at the wall. "Now that I think about it, there have been some weird things about me for as long as I can remember."
"Like what?" Nifty smiled at the growing curiosity of what he had to say.
Noctis took a handful of his own hair and stared down at it with pondering the history of his snow locks. " Well my hair has always been long and any time it was cut it always grew back within a week or two."
"That's neat but weird." She took away the handful and braided it, listening intently.
"Very," he agreed while going back to the oven to check the pot. "Also, I've never been sick, not even a cough. There's also how much food I eat if I work myself to the bone."
Nifty pondered those facts as she remained seated on his shoulders with an idea to his mysterious person.
"Maybe you're part demon?"
Noctis felt a laugh come on but suppressed it while she finished the braiding. He felt such an idea was beyond silly while stirring said pot but enjoyed her creative thinking.
He held himself firm with a chuckle. "Pretty sure I'm not a demon or part demon Nifty."
Nifty frowned at the thought but agreed with the man, though there was some trickling desire for it to be true.
"Yeah you're right. You're too nice to be a demon, plus I like that you're human and stuck down here with us. It's fun and new."
"Thanks," he reached up and patted her head while a familiar presence entered the kitchen with a clench of her jaw at the closeness. "I like you too, even if you are..... twisted."
"Hi there!"
Noctis jumped slightly at the loud chime of the familiar sweet tone of their friend entering the kitchen with a strained smile, strangely controlled to where neither Nifty nor Noctis could tell she was seething internally with jealousy during her approach.
"Oh, hey Charlie!" Nifty chirped before her cheerful demeanor drift to confusion of the princess approaching without a word of acknowledgment.
If only they could see the underlying clench of her jaw with how she didn't like Nifty getting his attention.
"What are you doing?" Charlie drawled a little too sweetly with thoughts spiraling into discomfort of the little demoness having already braided Noctis' long hair.
"I was taste tester for the soup he is making." Nifty pointed back to the pot. "And he let me braid his hair."
"I see that."
Charlie forced a sugary smile while her 'act friendly' presence chipped a little at how Noctis' snowy hair was not the way she preferred. This change of appearance didn't sit well to her, nor how Nifty was hogging the man.
"And you didn't even invite me?" She leaned forward and looked the human right in his eyes, clenching internally while maintaining that forced sweetness of her demeanor by batting her lashes at him.
Noctis was a little concerned by the way the princess acted but was oblivious to the reason.
Still he had to answer the princess with how uncomfortably close she was getting and eyeing his new hair style.
"You were getting that Pentious guy his room, and I didn't think you'd care for—"
"I want to be involved." She interrupted and crossed her arms with a pout.
That didn't make sense and it was obviously befuddling for Noctis as she pointed to the stove of simmering soup.
"I want to taste test too." Charlie puffed her cheeks up and glared at him with no room for argument.
Noctis sighed deeply and gave up trying to dissuade her, choosing instead to gesture to the pot and let her have a taste. Such defeat wasn't the answer he was supposed to give however, fueling the irritation and jealousy within Charlie before she demanded the same treatment Nifty received.
"I want you to feed it to me!"
Noctis blinked repeatedly in disbelief. He didn't understand the reason behind her childlike demand to be fed and questioned mentally the depth of their friendship.
"You want me to feed you a taste of my soup?"
"You did it for Nifty," she thrusted an accusatory finger at the housemaid still on his shoulders. "So I want the same thing."
Noctis' eyes were still wide with inability to believe her want of being bed, but the silence between said enough to make him sigh in defeat and return to the simmering pot that needed stirring anyway. He looked back at the princess following for a brief moment before taking the same ladle and spooning out a small taste.
Charlie watched as he blew on the steaming ladle, smiled triumphantly while waiting for him to hold it out for her.
"Here, try it." He said calmly, though the blush on his cheeks said different things as he held said ladle close to her mouth.
Charlie was strangely slow to sip the hot broth, but her aggression for being included was replaced with a sense victory in the way she looked up to Nifty and smirked.
Although the way she looked up had the human more confused and flustered than he expected before taking the ladle away to wash after she finished.
Charlie kept her gaze on the man and hummed with satisfaction of the taste that feel into her, a delight that had made her giddy with long forgotten emotions of her childhood as she processed this new warmth in her chest.
"It's so good. Its like I'm back home with my mom."
Noctis' eyes flickered with remembrance of his own as the past of his life appeared in his mind with a savory feeling of joy in his heart as he cleaned.
"Yeah, my foster representative taught me how to cook."
Charlie couldn't help but feel curious about the man opening up about his life a little. A touch of her hand gently but possessively on his arm and she was drawn to his words with a little somber to her smile.
"You never had parents?" She asked, her tone akin to pity but hope of drawing him closer to her.
"Not even a mom?" Nifty asked while undoing the braids to make a ponytail.
"Nope." He didn't acknowledge the way Charlie held his arm whilst drying the dishes, but the chipper tone in his voice concerned the princess. "I'm an orphan. I was found on the front steps of an orphanage."
Charlie couldn't think of anything to say for the moment Noctis continued to open up so innocently about his life on earth. Even as she realized just how special the man was, her heart aches for him, for the love and tenderness he never received.
"Anytime I was close to adoption the parent or parents would back out at the last minute, some apprehensive or some just plain scared whenever they spoke to my representative."
"What?" Charlie gasped in horror of that revelation and burned with a surge of protectiveness. "That's horrible. Was that person keeping you alone?"
Noctis shrugged so nonchalantly and turned to the princess with the same casual expression of caring so little for himself.
"Dont know, but I'd say I'm doing alright." He gazed around the kitchen and pondered his new life. "Trapped in hell, sure, but at least I have friends like you guys."
"Friends." The word came off Charlie's breath with feeling of regret to how little the depth of their connection was. She looked up to Nifty still working Noctis' hair and lost a little bit more of her smile. "Right..."
However, a mischievous thought crossed her mind to the revelation of his loneliness, and a darker image of hope took her mind before she used her own behavior of tenderness and love to smirk up at the human who tilted his head at her change.
"Charlie are you—"
Noctis' concern was cut short with the hellish princess pressing to his chest and locking her arms around tightly before Vaggie followed shortly inside after getting Pentious to his room again after making him promise not to work for Vox any longer.
Noctis stiffened with another flush across his cheeks while Vaggie approached with the same discomfort of feeling left out.
Not that he knew how things worked with demons anyway.
"I want a hug." Charlie mumbled against his form.
"A hug?" He questioned and looked up to Nifty peeking over his head, but the only answer from her was a shrug while Vaggie expressed disapproval of how close both girls were.
"Charlie what are you and Nifty doing?" She asked with her arms crossed.
Charlie smiled secretively against Noctis' chest and for a few moments felt the jealousy they unknowingly shared melt away. She nuzzled against the blushing human and whined like a child not getting her way.
"I want a hug but he won't hug me
back."
Vaggie, though a bit irked by the attention her girlfriend was getting, smiled and shook her head in amusement at Noctis while he waited for an explanation and endured Charlie making him return said hug by using her powers to force his arms around her.
"Hey!" Noctis yelped but was too late with the red glow locking his hands around her. "Charlie what are you doing!?"
"I want a hug." Charlie whined harder, stomping the floor like a pouty brat when his arms didn't tighten with intention of holding her.
"She gets like this sometimes." Vaggie commented with a giggle that made Noctis' heart flutter to such rare cuteness. "Needs her emotional batteries recharged once in awhile.
"Oh." Noctis lost the flush across his cheeks with understanding and finally tightened his arms around Charlie. "Okay then."
"Can I have one too?" Nifty piped in loudly but met a menacing stare from Charlie's left eye looking darkly up at her as Vaggie joined the hug by squeezing her and whispering in her ear.
"You're a brat with him."
Charlie had no response except with looking back and sticking her tongue out in defiance.
"Okay…." Noctis stood there awkwardly with feeling the strange tension of Charlie focusing herself back in the tenderness of said hug while feeling vaggie grip his wrists in a manner that was tighter than normal.
"My two favorite people." Charlie sighed with content and giggled at being squished between them.
Noctis looked down at Vaggie who simply winked at him, then to Charlie pressing harder to his chest as if it were a mission to merge to his body. Awkwardness took hold in the overbearing friendliness he felt with both girls and felt a growing connection for the two as said moment became a fluster of emotions he'd not felt before.
One thing was for certain in his mind however, a gnawing confusion of demons like Charlie and vaggie being so friendly or if there was a hidden agenda behind this entire silence.
"Is this normal for demons?"
As much as the feeling of closeness felt comforting for everyone when Noctis gave in, ruin came shortly after with the presence of Angel Dust entering the kitchen with a small gift box.
Vaggie was the first to express her annoyance of the perverted spider as he stood before them with a suspicious glare between their closeness to Noctis and the package in his hands.
"What now Angel Dust?"
"This arrived." Angel handed it off to the human once he was freed by the girls by moving away, albeit forcefully when they were refusing to let go. "It's for Noctis."
"For me?" Noctis asked and took the box from Angel with all three girls peeping around him to see the gift once he lifted the lid.
Charlie was the first to be worried and show it with how her hands gripped his arm when the secrecy of his living in hell was kept strict. She had the strangest sensation that whoever sent a mystery gift was probably not a friend to the hotel.
Noctis dropped the box after he pulled out what was a cellphone of the latest Vox design with a taped note.
"Courtesy of VoxTek, The human known as Noctis is exclusively invited to the Tower to meet Vox, Velvette and Valentino.
"A meeting?" Charlie questioned innocently while vaggie and Angel Dust showed the opposite in how they came to the same agreement by nodding to one another.
"The Vees?" Noctis tilted his head at Vaggie after he examined the phone that lit up at his touch. "Who are they?"
"Nobody good." Vaggie was quick to answer with a harsh glare that was meant for the invitation.
"This isn't good. That means they know he exists." Angel Dust puzzled the note as Noctis foolishly started playing with the phone with a strange yearning for the device.
"This is bad, this is really bad." Charlie started pacing the kitchen with a fidgety play of her hands while Noctis helped Nifty off his shoulders. "That means they know what he is and can use this against us."
Noctis looked at the three confusedly as the phonr started flash with Vox face appearing secretly in the corner of the screen and seeing the oppurtunity to eavesdrop.
"Guys what's wrong with—"
Noctis was cut short and startled by the spider demon rushing into his space with an aggressive shove and grasp of his wrists, pinning his form against the counter.
"Angel what the hell are—"
"You stay away from them!" Angel Dust snapped furiously in Noctis' face with a burning glare that showed a combination of authority and concern. "I don't care what you think about this, you stay away from the Vees, especially Valentino!"
"Valentino?" Noctis was mildly irritated by the confrontation but concerned with how serious Angel was now acted as the girls sided with him.
"Yes!" Angel barked and tightened his grip.
"Angel calm down!" Charlie took one of Angel's arms and pried him off with the help of Vaggie. "You're hurting him."
Everyone's eyes widened with panic at the aggression from the usually flirtatious demon while he and ignored Charlie intentionally.
"PROMISE ME!!!" Angel screamed desperately, ragingly with another forceful shove. "PROMISE ME YOULL STAY AWAY FROM THEM!"
Angel poured his emotions out like a flood, his usually uncaring and violation of boundaries unmasked with unshed tears of desperation as he waited for the stunned human to answer.
Noctis struggled against Angel's grip, his gentle nature starting to harden as he showed distress. "Let go of me!"
Angel's patience was none however for the human, and once more he shoved him against the counter.
"PROMISE ME DAMMIT!"
"Alright I promise. Now get off!" Noctis was defensive now and the same result came from Alastor's first attempt at harm.
The perverted demon was knocked back by Noctis' soul repelling once more but in a less powerful manner. If anything it was just a warning blast that drew blood from Angel as everyone watched him look up in shock.
Noctis trembled with guilt and fear of his own actions as he looked down at Angel Dust getting helped up by the girls.
"I'm sorry. I don't know what I—"
"What the fuck!?" Angel Dust clenched his fists after he wiped the blood from his lip. "I'm looking out for your ass and you blast me back. The hell is your problem!?"
"I don't know how I did it!" Noctis kept a safe distance from Angel. He stared down at his own trembling hands, his amber eyes scanning with distrust at his own person while the rest of the gang entered the kitchen.
It was obvious Noctis wasn't aware of this power and thought as fast as he could why he did that to Angel while backing away, staring at the gang in fear of the harm he could cause.
"I-I'm sorry….."
"Everybody calm down!" Charlie tried to intervene as everyone remained oblivious to the smirking Vox watching secretly on the new phone through the camera.
"Calm down!?" Noctis was ready to shout at the princess but restrained himself at how she pressed her hands to his chest to stop him.
"Yes." Her voice trembled as Vaggie stayed between to mediate the conflict. "Angel is just looking out for you. The Vees are bad news and Valentino is indeed the worst."
"Thank you!" Angel exclaimed before he stormed out of the room.
"Angel wait!" Noctis wanted to run after him but was stopped by the bubbly demon keeping him in place. "Charlie let me through!"
"Noctis, just listen." Charlie struggled with her words as she tried to emphasize the concern in their friend. "Angel knows you didn't mean it but he is just trying to protect you because Valentino is the porn demon. He owns Angel's soul and uses him for a lot of disgusting videos."
Noctis' eyes widened in shock at the revelation of his flirtatious friend.
"He what?"
Charlie nodded somberly as she knew precisely the painful details of Angel with his suffering. The both looked back to the doorway Angel left through while she explained the rest.
"His soul is owned by Valentino, and he has no choice but to be the pornstar he's made into. He literally has no choice being a porn slave to that monster."
Noctis' thoughts spiraled with understanding and anger as he imagined the torment Angel must suffer being owned by someone like that. He frowned he took in this information, realizing fully that his friend was doing what he could to keep him safe.
"He's protecting me..."
Meanwhile at The Tower of The Vees….
"Did you fucking see that!?" Vox exclaimed after he disconnected himself from the phone.
Both Velvette and Valentino were gawking in silence of the recording they just witnessed of the human and his reaction to being confronted. They could could feel their skin crawl with the same excitement as their the tv demon cackled with disbelief of their discovery.
"The fucking meat sack isn't as human as he looks!"
Two and two clicked together before Velvette shook off her shock and glared at Vox for his enthusiastic laughter and ridiculous display of victory.
"Hold up." She grabbed Vox harshly by his wrist and turned him to face. "Since when can humans repel our kind?"
"I don't know." Vox was still in a feat of laughter and while he looked back at the replay of Angel Dust getting blown back. "But we gotta fucking get him."
Velvette couldn't agree more in the matter, but as the brains of their group she was more controlled and logical in the matter. Noctis didn't just have friends but also protection of the princess and the radio demon that thirsted for the secret behind his soul.
She crossed her arms and laughed sarcastically at the tv demon while Valentino walked away to try another attempt at contacting his favorite spider demon for his own intentions.
"News flash, genius, those twits just informed him about who we are. He isn't going to come here willingly just with your welcoming gift."
Vox stopped his laughter and stood with his back turned to the fashion overlord. He looked back to her from the corner of his eye and smiled darkly as a plot formed in his mind.
"He has the phone. It doesn't have to be willing."